What Happened to Coraline
by paigelouisew
Summary: A new generation has arrived at Hogwarts. Although, just because the war has been won, does this really imply that harmony is secure for the sons and daughters of Dumbledore's Army? Coraline Longbottom is aware of the dangers surrounding the Wizarding World, and as she strives to complete her Sixth year, there is always something, or someone, standing in her way. Likewise, with the
1. Chapter 1

I had caught a glimpse of my surroundings before attaching the roll of parchment to a neighbouring owl: the Owlery always looked the same, _definitely_ smelt the same, but this time felt somehow different. There was a sense of masked uncertainty that followed me wherever I ventured; whether that was my fault for the several threatening situations I had been caught up in prior, or the subtle hint of what was to come, I could not tell you. But none of that mattered at that moment in time: what mattered was the letter I was sending to my mother.

As I pulled the stiff wooden door ajar, the owl flapped its wings and like that he was gone, flying through the battling wind of the night. I had grown empathy for these creature very early on in my time at Hogwarts; their yearning for freedom mirrored mine, however, it wasn't so much that _I_ was cooped up in a small room for half of the year. At least I could explore, for as much as I was allowed, but that was enough for me. So, possibly not so much empathy, but rather sympathy. It was a good thing that I hadn't owned one of these owls, or I wouldn't get anything done. Too much to think about, to question.

I could not seem to divert my view from the horizon, it was almost hypnotising. There were a few other owls dotted around the sky, and I pondered for a moment where they might be heading, and while a lone imp circled the lantern above me, I gave a meek smile as a small lizard-like creature crawled across my hand. It bit me with its underdeveloped teeth, a feathered touch, looked up cautiously at me and scurried off neatly. There was nothing flawed to these magical creatures. Each had been created especially for our eyes only, and I was honored to be a part of their world, however small it may be.

A sudden breeze came towards me like a stampede, which caused my fair, dark hair to dance behind me. A speck of dust caught my dull blue eyes and my reaction was to rub my, now, dirty face. It was springtime, yet there was still a chill in the air, so I covered what I could of my uniform with my robe, cursing myself for not investing in thicker attire.

"Shouldn't you be heading for bed, Miss. Longbottom?"

A scream almost escaped my mouth.

My heart pounded excessively under the newly grown goose bumps as I twisted my body to where that confident, deep voice came from, although I knew exactly who it was. Maclin was standing in front of me, dressed comfortably as usual, with a look I could only describe as concerned.

He scratched the dark mane of hair on his head, as if to question my antics. "Most of the students are heading for bed, I think you should learn from them."

I placed my hands on the wall, my nerves slowly calming as I let out a sigh. "Did my father give you this task?" I asked, with the feeling of exhaustion slowly creeping up on me. The talk of sleep had made me aware of how long I had been up there.

"Well... yes and no. I was coming up here regardless to search for Rubeus' small beasts, I can't count how many times I have misplaced those buggers," he said with a grumble in his tone, scruffy eyebrows furrowed. Ever since Hagrid had retired from Gamekeeper last year, the whole of Hogwarts had been overgrown with creatures, most likely from the Forbidden Forest. With Maclin being the new Gamekeeper, he had yet to live up to Hagrid's role. "Right, let's not bother right now. Come downstairs, or else you'll be tired for your lessons tomorrow."

He was right.

It hardly bothered me when I had to go to my dorm, but I could not lie and say it wasn't a relief to be on my own sometimes. It was extremely loud in the Gryffindor rooms, even my own, and sometimes it was better just to let my mind wander freely, rather than being constricted. Don't get me wrong, I had friendships, very close friendships to be exact, but doesn't everyone need to be free sometimes?

As Maclin accompanied me down the stairs, he asked, "what were you doing, Miss. Longbottom? You know it is still far too cold up there."

"I was sending a letter to my mother." He gave me a look of bewilderment. "I thought she should know of my time here."

There was always an air of uncomfortable silence when speaking about my mother nowadays. It saddens me to think of her, the way she is now, but I rarely dwell upon that thought.

After a while, he replied. "Well, goodnight Coraline." He smiled consolingly down at me, taking a few steps closer. I felt, uneasy, or maybe that was just the drowsiness. "This can be our little secret." Reaching the last step, Maclin took off the other way.

I could credit him on one thing; he was always there for the students at Hogwarts, just like Hagrid was.

Soon enough I had reached the Gryffindor common room, and after looking back at Maclin's retreating figure, I entered. Nothing much had changed in the house's dorms from what my father had explained to me; the flags had been replaced, as did the carpet, but most of the furniture and miscellaneous objects stayed unharmed. The striking colours of red and yellow somewhat hurt my eyes, I was getting quite tired, and the music from the radio did not help, so I continued on to my room. However, a hand planted faintly on my shoulder.

I turned to see James Potter before he embraced me into a hug. Holding ground, I patted his back bashfully, and I wondered why this hug was so important to be expressed in the middle of the common room. He soon let go, however, and a grin was fixed upon his face.

"I got an E in Tranfiguration! Well, in the mock," he gleamed, seemingly unfazed by his increase in tone that attracted most of the attention from students to clap in his favour.

I gave out a laugh while I looked at how cheery he was; he had been revising for weeks, so I was indeed proud, but being the son of the famous Potter sure did make him that little bit more boastful. He bowed his head in a sarcastic manner to the students while he laughed also, his brown ruffled hair shaking in sync. He definitely learned his entertaining manner from his Uncle George.

I guided him to the corner of the room, near the staircase, as to avoid from being in the centre of the room. "Well done, James. But I'm sure you didn't say that just for my benefit," I said with half a smirk, trying not to encourage his childish behaviour, but I couldn't help it. He was my best friend. "Are you actually going to try now in your other classes?" I teased.

With mock distress, he held a hand to his heart. "Why think so negatively of me, Coraline?" But before I could reply, he continued. "Okay, no, you are completely right. There is no chance now that I have the grade I want." We both laughed, and I shook my head at him, smiling.

A yawn escaped me, and I put a hand over my mouth to mask my true feelings.

Looking concerned, James bent down slightly to kiss my forehead. "You look sleepy. Get yourself to bed, Cora, and we will chat more in Potions tomorrow. I can tell you all about my plan for another adventure!" And with that, he sped off in the other direction to the boy's dormitories.

He knew me so well, even if he did mother me like many others did at Hogwarts.

Thus, I dragged my feet up the countless number of stairs, _too many for my liking_ , and finally made it to my room. I was just about to sigh in relief when I opened the door to see my two roommates fast asleep, from what I could tell from the light snoring I could hear. Shutting the door behind me, I crept over towards my bed, changed as silently as I could, and wrapped myself tightly in my duvet.

However, I felt a lump underneath where I had placed my arm, their soft fur grazing my skin to try free themselves. Uncovering myself, I watched as a mouse scurried over my nightgown.

"There you are, Pesyl." I whispered into the darkness, smiling, and stroking his velvety fur with my pinky finger. He was extremely small, so I wasn't surprised that I lost him all the time. My father said he had placed a charm on Pesyl for him to stay this size, to remind himself of me when I was so young. He rubbed himself against my hand, then curled himself on top of my duvet, shutting his beady eyes.

And then I followed, closing my eyes and letting myself drift off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

My dreamless sleep had been crowned with a merry morning. However, adopting the term 'merry' was not the best to describe my awakening, and maybe a little far from the truth, as 'frantic' seemed more fitting to the eye. My back, arms, neck, everything _ached_ from the uncomfortable position I had been lying in, and as I came gradually into consciousness, the sounds grew more obnoxious. First was the alarm; that was the worst of them all, the piercing ring that vibrated around the room. Then came the radio, but I could barely hear what they were saying. I had come to accept the radio in the early morning, in fact I was rather fond of the Wireless Network News. The birds outside were faintly singing in my presence, however that sound was drowned significantly by the exasperated rumble of my two roommates.

They could not be anything other than Weasleys.

Finally, my sight had been restored from my sleep and I could somewhat tolerate the sunlight in my eyes.

"Coraline... Up for lesson... Don't go back to sleep again!" Said Molly, from what I could hear from her, after my eyes covered themselves once again from the early hours of the morning.

My arm had outstretched to feel for my alarm, but seconds later the sound had vanished, so I let my arm flop down over the side of the bed, my fingers running circles atop the twisted tufts of the carpet underneath me. My lips were forced vastly apart, eyes scrunching. I was yawning, terribly so, but my eyes kept firmly shut.

However, I felt a strong presence above me: my vision had progressively become darker and my eyes twitched, eager to see what was above. Only a moment later and two rough fingers were beginning to pry my eyes open. Unwillingly, I looked upwards and surely enough there was Dominique, displaying her petite frame above the broom of which she had lain casually upon, resting her head against the wood. The close proximity between her broom and I would have shocked me, concerned that she would fall, if it were not a reoccurring experience. Dominique smiled down rather proudly and retracted her hands back on her broom, to then lower herself diagonally from my bed and onto the floor neatly. They had both already dressed themselves.

"Morning Coraline." They both chimed, and I smiled back drowsily.

"Morning Molly, morning Dominique," I rubbed my eyes, squashing my face. "What is first lesson again?"

I was never one for remembering... much at all really, that was something I still needed to work on.

They laughed in sync, shaking their heads in my direction. Molly was next to speak up. "You mean, what is your first lesson? It's Potions, with James. If you even remember him!" she said, inspecting herself in the only mirror in our room. "You are amusing, Coraline."

Dominique lifted herself up from the floor and held her hand out in my direction. With an inflated exhale, I peered up to meet her hazel eyes and accepted her offer as she helped to lift me up from my bed. My feet met directly with the carpet: it felt rough, harsh on my skin, just like rubbing up against a plastered wall, and my reaction was to shiver in dissatisfaction.

I examined both of my roommates; they always looked so similar, it was a surprise that they weren't sisters, rather than cousins. I could not say their hair was ginger, as much as it was almost bronze, in a way, but both could be described as regal, especially compared to my lackluster head of hair. However, whereas Dominique's eyes were hazel, Molly's were blue; a quality she had inherited from her father, Percy. They were both shorter than me, but still an average height for their age, and both had freckles underlining their eyes, although Molly wore glasses so her freckles were partly hidden.

All in all, they were both extremely beautiful.

From outside, I could make out the faint outlines of students darting past the bedroom window, and I knew that Dominique had caught a glance, also. I could harshly hear them as they cheered for a male student flying his way over to the snitch. It had never been my passion to take up Quidditch, but that was far from the truth in regards to Dominique. Whereas she had grown a somewhat emotional devotion to the sport; I, however, had practiced Quidditch at a fairly young age and grown tired of it fairly quickly also. My father was proud of me for trying, but trying was never the standard I could live on. I wanted a life infused with a kind of gluttony for fun and adventure, or nothing at all.

A brisk click of Molly's finger had shot into my line of sight. "Dominique, don't you start with those constant daydreams. It's bad enough Coraline getting lost in her own mind all the time!" She looked over at us disapprovingly, but I knew now that she was only teasing.

"Don't be so callous, Molly," Dominique spat, but Molly only then eyed my profile to see I had grinned back at her, and as she mirrored my behaviour, we began to laugh gingerly. I had shifted my view to Dominique: the emotions that crossed over her face were a mix of perplexity and embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she almost breathed, chuckling, with a delicate yet unpleasant smile playing on her lips while she rubbed her temples. "I guess I got ahead of myself. It's the Gryffindor and Slytherin match this evening, it will be my first game of the year... Oh, did I not tell you?"

By the looks on our faces at that time, she knew what the answer was.

"When is it? We would love to cheer you on, right Molly? These games are much more civilised now anywa-" I was cut short by a booming voice appearing to the side of me.

"You should have told us sooner!" Cried Molly, moving hastily around the room; first with her head in her hands, then with a finger pointing at Dominique, then her arms flailing in the air. "We could have planned, designed banners, a cake, our own t-shirts, we could have prepared our cheers!"

I smirked wisely down at her. "Molly, as well as not being so _callous_ , it would also benefit if you would calm down."

Dominique laughed in my favour, sarcasm ringing in every word as she said: "Yes, Molly, only a smidge."

Molly only reacted by planting her rear inelegantly on the bed, hands covering her head once again. "But Dominique, this is important to you. We want to see you do your best." She never flinched when her friend sat down beside her, gently kissing the top of her head.

"I know, and I love you both for that, but I will be just fine! Better than fine, actually, fantastic might I say!" Cheered Dominique, and I smiled along with her as I changed my attire rather hastily behind the screen. "I'm a Weasley, remember? We are fearless." I could see through the partial transparency of the screen that they were hugging each other.

With moments passing after I had organised my text books for the day, the screeching buzz of my alarm sounded five minutes until the first lesson of the day.

We all shared a look of panic and excitement, laughing embarrassingly as we rushed out of our bedroom. Being the last to depart, I closed the door behind me and raced back up to the two Weasley's. I tried not to look in the direction of Dominique, but the sleeve of her blouse had uncovered the permanent, and highly visible, marks from where her skin had been damaged, almost burnt or peeled off from a glance. I had seen it before, but the damage was substantial, and extremely painful to observe as a friend. Thus, I rushed over to her side and pulled her cuffs back over to avoid a commotion from the many other students passing by. She gazed upwards at me, smiled, and mouthed: "thank you."

~#~#~#~

I was one of the few students to enter late to Potions class that morning, taking my seat apprehensively next to James, trying to escape his mischievous grin. Yet, to no avail.

"You say it is frowned upon to be late, Coraline," said James cheekily, his dark blue eyes glowing. "So what caught your eye?"

My head stuck stiffly down. "Nothing, James, I just forgot th-"

"Longbottom, why don't you compensate for your lateness rather by not talking, and instead opening your text book to Golpallot's Third Law like the rest of your classmates?" Professor Slughorn stated jovially, but rather, I think he had meant to sound a little smugger. I carried my glance, and like usual, the majority of students around the classroom hadn't opened their text books.

I had heard James chuckle from my right.

It wasn't that Professor Slughorn disapproved of me; no, that was not his intentions. He was just plainly judgmental of students. However, I don't believe he would regard himself with that fairly unfavourable quality. No, _he_ would say he was 'an influential figure for the _right_ students', or something of the sort. And, while Slughorn was not the biggest fan of my father due to the recent, and somewhat random, rivalry between Potions and Herbology, for me that meant I was not the _right_ student.

"Actually, class, we will practice the Volubilis Potion. Come on then, up on your feet!" He clapped with a power that pierced my ears, and then came the terrible sound of the screeching stools being pulled from their places.

While Professor Slughorn babbled on, James and I took our position in front of the two neighbouring Cauldrons, one table too far from the back of the classroom. We began to gather our ingredients, and while James was reading as little as possible of the instructions, I was far too forgetful to manage that.

I turned to see he was smiling at me already. Taken back, I looked cheerily puzzled at him, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

James answered first by smiling even wider at me, and I could faintly see his teeth. "You are too absent-minded, that's all."

"There shouldn't be anything wrong with being _too_ much of something." I tried to defend myself. "I find it enhances one's character."

We both laughed, trying to concentrate on our potion also. "Okay then, Caroline. You are just absent-minded, but that is a very silly thing to be," said James while slicing a Valerian root into quarters.

I followed his actions. "I think this is just an extremely difficult class to master." Noticing I had sliced the root one too many times, I reached for another, and cursed.

James looked up hastily to meet my gaze. "Do you want me to tutor you? I'm feeling fairly confident in Potions this year."

"That is only because you don't try enough to know what confident really feels like," I teased, chuckling to myself.

"I'm serious, Caroline," replied James, with his face masked from any emotions. "We could start tonight, and we can still go through with my plan, too!"

I smiled apologetically in his direction. "I would love to, James."

My mind tried to concentrate earnestly on my potion, _Stewed Mandrake is to be added next, at which point the potion turns orange_ , but became distracted by James' antics in my peripheral vision. He was scribbling nonsense down on a piece of parchment, of which I was curious, his face oozing with concentration, and partial giddiness.

I tapped his shoulder, to which he barely faltered. "What's that you're writing there?" No reply. "Bloody hell, James, what is so important?" My voice had raised slightly, and my face burned red as Professor Slughorn shushed me with a finger to his lips. "James!" I whispered, frustrated, and only a snort came from James as he laughed.

The bell had rung for the end of the lesson, and after I had left James to follow my classmates, he had caught up with me and stopped my retreating figure by placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Could I speak to you for a minute, Potter? Coraline, you can scurry off now." Professor Slughorn rushed his words, babbling like usual, and James nodded towards him.

James passed me the parchment. "Here," he said quietly. "Whatever you do, do not be late!" And with that, he returned to Professor Slughorn.

As I walked steadily down the corridor to the field, I unravelled the parchment and read what had been so important in the lesson.

 _Dear Caroline,_

 _Eight thirty sharp; be there at the lily pond half a mile into the Forbidden Forest. It will be dark, so bring more than only your wand. However, I will paint a route there as I venture down._

 _Don't worry, Caroline, no one will see._

 _A few things I need from you to bring; a pouch or basket, or just something to store bits and bobs in; some form of sweets; a rug; an unused vile; and various suitable plants from your father's classroom._

 _And I know what you're thinking, you want to know why I wrote this. I knew you would forget._

 _Forever,_

 _James Potter_.


	3. Chapter 3

Two hours later and, with help from a few of my classmates, I had almost obtained all of the items on James' list; one woven basket, a handful of sweets from Molly's stash below her bed, one rug and vile 'borrowed' from the Gryffindor common room and Potions class respectfully. I was only a few corridors away from venturing outside and into the Herbology greenhouse to collect whatever plants I felt suitable, for what purpose I was not sure of, so I felt it would be best to pick a wide range.

My father had tried to pass down his passion for herbology onto me through countless conversations on the matter and trips to our allotment for educational purposes, to which no avail, however throughout the years it seemed that this knowledge had been drilled into my head, therefore I was fairly skilled in his class and knew a great deal about almost all plants and fungi. This came as an advantage in situations such as these.

Good job I had at least one talent at Hogwarts. I was only just scraping an Exceeds Expectations in Care for Magical Creatures.

There were barely any students around when I managed to enter the path that took me to the greenhouse, only a group of Ravenclaws hanging around the bushes and what looked like third years leaving Charms class. After all, it was getting close to the evening which meant dinner was approaching, and it would be a shame to miss that. The wind hit me sharp and brisk, like a wave of icicles jabbing against my revealed skin, and my teeth started to twitch. My legs were stimulated by the cold which accelerated my pace, items in hand. My mind pondered over what James could want with these plants: I knew he had a guilty pleasure for making potions, which would require plants and a vile, but it was the sweets that threw me off.

I had not stayed on task for very long as I found my thoughts seeking other encouragement. Entering the greenhouse, I caught sudden movements from the corner of my eye and gazed up to see a Bowtruckle dancing around the leaves. I placed my basket down and watched with zest. Its needle-like fingers scored the surface against them until there was nowhere to move, rapidly falling atop the clear panels of the building and nearing ever closer to the ground. I heard faint humming from outside the greenhouse but my mind was displaced at that moment to even care. The small, flat-faced creature made a horrific sounding screech before it landed safely in my hands that I had outstretched just in time. Lucky for him, however my palms were bleeding slightly from the sharp spikes of its fingers. Nevertheless, I placed it gently on top of the soil on the tables and with that it scurried off into a small tree.

My mind was just about to focus back on task until I turned around and came face to chest with a rather tall seventh year student. The impact of the collision shocked me enough for my heart to race and for me to intake a short gasp of air.

We both moved back one step and composed ourselves. "Sorry," I muttered.

I looked up to see the boy in the black and green robes and took in his appearance. Striking platinum blonde hair that had a dishevelled bed head look -although the length falling only to his ears-, blue eyes lidded, a face clean of stubble or spots but a redness to his cheeks and nose.

This was none other than Scorpius Malfoy.

After six years of Hogwarts, this was the day I finally met the infamous Malfoy. I tried not to be swayed by my father's opinion, but it was difficult not to be on edge when all I had heard of his family was purely negative.

"I guess it's alright" he said with a low chuckle. "Not as if I've been waiting to get past you for a little over a minute now." His lips pulled upwards into a small smile, but I was certain that sentence was intended to be more of a warning than a joke.

His posture changed from disorientated to that of dominance. He definitely mastered the art of how to gain attention.

"Right," I replied with an uncomfortable smile before turning my back on him to tend to the plants.

I could hear him scuttling around the greenhouse, his presence ominous, but I pressed on and picked out suitable plants. Dittany, hawthorn, hemlock, fluxweed, water lily, puffapod, valerian; all with different uses and powers. I stopped when I came to dandelion root as a voice erupted from the silence.

"What are you doing?" I looked behind me to see Scorpius eyeing me diligently, his back rested lazily against the wall.

I quickly focused my attention again on the plants. "Collecting samples for my father." Droplets of sweat were running down my forehead.

"You're Professor Longbottom's daughter?"

"Yes, why?" I heard him move closer.

"I was only curious. You look too pretty to be a Longbottom." Standing up in a haste, I gathered the courage to spin around and face him, my eyes squinted and cheeks ablaze. He looked taken back and his eyes widened as he found the right words to say. "I mean, it was a compliment! Not an insult on your father. He's a great Herbology teacher, you know! Much better than Sprout! Sorry. I'll stop now." His facial features turned sheepish as he ran a hand through his hair.

I paused for a second to regain composure.

"Why are you here?" I asked rather sharply, my cheeks still as colourful as a rose and my hands just as clammy.

"Uh, just researching valerian for my mock in a couple weeks. Maybe you could help me find it?"

"I thought valerian wasn't on next year's exam?"

"Oh, I know," replied Scorpius with an apprehensive chuckle, the same hand ruffling his hair again. "It links to asphodel, I thought it might get me ahead."

My eyebrows raised slightly as I relaxed into the conversation. "I never would have picked you Slytherin's as the love-to-learn type," I said bashfully, a smile creeping onto my face to which he mirrored. I bent down to collect the valerian from my basket. "Just a quick tip: it's known for its sedative properties and is a remedy for treating epilepsy."

Scorpius looked down at my arm, outstretched and waiting for him to take the plant. "Thanks, I guess I'll have to keep you in mind for when I want quick tips."

As he grabbed the valerian from my grasp, his hand grazed mine. It was a feathered touch which felt of pure silk. A wave of emotions washed over me, from guilt to appreciation, then finally delight and amorousness. It took me back and my legs wobbled in reaction, almost tripping me up. Stupidly, that landed me pushed up against Scorpius again instead of the floor, although I would have much preferred the floor at that point.

Scorpius caught me, however, and with his two arms under my armpits he lifted me back onto my feet. "I never would have picked Gryffindor's as the clumsy type." He laughed at this comment, but I could see his cheeks were just as enflamed as mine. "I better get going anyway."

With dismay I bent back down to pick up my basket and listened as Scorpius exited the greenhouse.

"What is your name by the way, Longbottom?" I saw his head peeping around the wall one last time and I smiled.

"Coraline."

"Right, okay, well I'm-"

"Scorpius Malfoy."

He laughed. "Did my hair give it away?"

~#~

The bell rang eight 'o' clock so I hurriedly carried my basket to the Forbidden Forest. To the lily pond about half a mile in, I recited while pushing the items back in that seemed to be flailing around due to my bounding strides. It read eight thirty on my watch when I eventually got there, looking like a drenched puppy panting from a day in the sun.

"Why are you late?" questioned James demandingly from behind one of the lone trees. I could see his robes soaring in the air from the breeze.

"It's... exactly... time." I answered through long breaths.

"If you hadn't ran you would have been late," he replied with wit before taking the basket from my hands. I didn't even have energy to comprehend what he was doing when he dropped the items and took hold of my hands. "What happened?"

I stared down to realise what he was referring to, which were my palms, still bleeding from earlier in the day.

"I was helping a Bowtruckle in the Herbology classroom, that's all. They might be strong but they sure are stupid."

James completely disregarded my joke, and instead guided me over hastily to the pond to cleanse my hands. While massaging my palms, which felt insanely relaxing, he smoothed his thumbs caringly over the cuts.

"You are such a motherly figure, Potter." I joked happily, resting my head against his shoulder.

"That's only because you really do need taking care of." We both laughed at his statement.

The pond was a beautiful crystallised blue which made this setting even more calming and natural for the both of us. Toads were hopping around the water's edge while water droplets were falling down to the pond from the dew of the leaves, which was all we could hear in this desolate forest, apart from the breeze settling against the tree tops that made an audible 'whoosh'.

"Why were you late then, Cora?" asked James protectively.

"I bumped into the infamous Malfoy while collecting the plants. He called me pretty."

He looked down at me, a hand over his face, masking an enormous laugh. "He didn't!" I nodded as my answer, trying not to giggle myself. "Well you are mine, Coraline Longbottom. I don't know what that bloody ponce is thinking." He puffed out his chest and hooked an arm over me, pulling me even closer to his side.

"He's not all that bad, really."

James took my face into his hands and gaped at me for a moment. "Who are you and what have you done to my Coraline?" he joked. I laughed in response.

Moments passed before I remembered what we were actually here for.

"Why did we come here, James?"

He suddenly shot up with excitement which made me fully attentive of his presence. "Okay, right, I think I'm ready." Running over to the tree he once hid behind, James pulled out a hefty amount of racks containing potions among potions. My confusion turned into worry as my mind wondered to the worst.

My first reaction was to amble over to him and his potions, muttering why's and how's under my breath before resorting to, "What?"

"I just want you to hear me out." His happy demeanour changed to weighty in a matter of seconds, and I noticed his hands were fidgeting. "I'm not stupid. I overheard you and my father talking. They're back, the death eaters, and Albus and I aren't safe. I totally get it. I'm not angry, but I want to fight back. And I know exactly how to do it."

His outburst took me by surprise. I understood mine and Mr. Potter's conversation was anything but subtle, with it just being by his bedroom door, however I hadn't prepared for this conversation with my best friend. Truthfully, I was scared.

The sky settled into darkness.

"How?" was all I could think to reply. There was no point reasoning with a Potter, especially James.

"I want to try and -now hear me out!- I want to finish off what all great men couldn't. I want to actually make a proper protective potion, against dark magic –and I know all of them out there are fake! I just think that's the only way I'm going to be able to fight back, to truly get rid of them once and for all. I have all these potions to test out that I've made by scratch, the plants I need if I'm onto something and the vile for duplicating concoctions."

There was a long pause before I smiled lovingly, took my last steps over to him and embraced him into a hug. "I'll help you." He wrapped his arms around my waist with not even a moment to waste and kissed my forehead, muttering "thank you" against my skin.

"So... what about the rug and the sweets?" I asked inquisitively, an eyebrow raised with a smirk on my face.

James chuckled before speaking dramatically. "Well, it's going to be a long night, I thought a picnic was overdue."


	4. Chapter 4

My mind was elsewhere when I took my place in the greenhouse for Herbology class; it was difficult to process the antics of the night before. Instead of testing the potions like James had hoped, last night enabled me to cut out some of them that I knew would not work, if for example the ingredients made some other type of elixir.

I was still rather bewildered over James' devotion for the plan he had formed. It was clear to everyone that James was born to be in Gryffindor; he was courageous and daring, and would never let injustice go unnoticed. However, to say that he was going to fight back was one thing. Acting on it was taking it to a whole new level.

I would always be by his side, and it wasn't like I was afraid of the danger that came with the notion of death eaters, _no._ It would be much more sensible, however, if he had mentioned this to his father. The death eaters nowadays were notoriously more violent, more uncontrollable, and much more desperate. Voldemort was dead, but it did not mean his followers were any less passionate about the cause. Dark magic would always be around. Although, without a leader, who was to say that they couldn't be beaten for good?

With the amount of potions that James had made, it would seem so, right?

The sheer extent of viles were immense, filling up at least thirty compartments in a rolling trolley. He told me that it had only taken him since the start of term to complete; _only_. Indeed, _only_ two months of pain staking hardship with a copper cauldron as his exclusive companion. I had forgotten to ask him how he had managed to hide such a huge task without me being any the wiser.

I regained attention for the lesson once my teacher had entered. He placed himself along the narrow section of the circle which we had made around one of the tables. Molly, who was at the top right area of the circle, stood beside her good friends, Penelope Fisher and Jane Lynch. She gave me a smile and a wave, which I mirrored, before settling herself for the lesson.

Professor Longbottom banged his papers on the table to neaten them. "Venomous Tentacula; one of the most dangerous plants we have on the Hogwarts grounds," he said with enthusiasm, but from the look on the student's faces, not everyone shared such passion. "Today, we will be learning how to successfully collect samples."

There was murmuring from all of us that grew louder. "I hope we still get to swear if they hit us," said Justin Gudgeon from beside me.

"Actually, Mr. Gudgeon, contrary to popular belief, they bite. Some have seen them fire spore-like balls from their mouths." Professor Longbottom finished with a proud smile. "-And they tend to strangle, too."

This shut Justin up, his bug eyes open wide even more than usual.

Lorcan Scamander raised his hand with a finger over his tightly pursed mouth. He had permission to speak once the rest of the class had silenced. "Professor Longbottom, if I may ask, is it true that the vines are mobile to catch prey?"

"Yes, Mr. Scamander! Five points to Ravenclaw."

Lorcan was the only one to clap in reaction while the rest of students sniggered and chortled.

Professor Longbottom continued. "You ought to be extremely careful with these plants, so please wear your dragon-hide gloves if you're going to be handling them. If you want to sniff some valerian to calm your nerves, they're right beside each station."

My mind hazed up with the thought of my encounter last night; the exchange of valerian. Scorpius was a character, alright. His nature was something to admire, and I felt quite guilty afterwards for type-casting him so effortlessly. He was more than just a Slytherin; he was friendly, clever, and really rather charming. The thought of seeing him again, to learn more about him, thrilled me- more than it should have.

"Miss Longbottom, would you like to share with the class what you know about collecting samples from a Venomous Tentacula?"

My vision cleared to see everyone in the greenhouse watching me. I tried to hide my embarrassment.

My father did this to me whenever we were taught something new; a 'Longbottom fire round quiz', he liked to call it. The only reason for it was because he expected me to be as passionate for Herbology as him, which was far from the truth.

"Use the severing charm to shear off the vines." I answered without thinking, before hearing a grumble of insults from the Slytherins.

"Exactly! Five points to Gryffindor. Does anyone else know how to take the samples after that?"

A collection of silence filled the room.

Professor Longbottom clapped his hands in excitement. "Excellent. That's what today's lesson is for. However, since last year's lesson went… not so well." One student was left with a deep scar across their cheek. "-therefore, my seventh year students have come to my rescue and each of them will be paired up with one of you. They are here to help and advise, so use them while they're here!"

As if on cue, the seventh year students came darting in, and our class began to converse and joke with a rumble. Some plants began to shake from the vibrations of sound erupting from the room, and I saw the Bowtruckle from yesterday evening peeping from a hole in the small bush in the corner of the room, then immediately rushing back in with a hiss. The clear panels of the greenhouse were becoming more condensed than before. Students were overcrowding the narrow halls of the small classroom, and towering over my already tall stature. A boy with ginger hair rushed over to Molly and wrestled her into a hug from behind. I did not see his face, but it was most likely one of her cousins, _possibly Fred_.

Most students had already found their pairs while I walked over to my father, textbook in hand.

"Everything okay, Coraline? Do you know what you're supposed to be doing?" he said professionally.

"I think you've taught me well enough by now, professor." I joked, then chose to hush and lower my tone of voice, just enough to be heard from the room full of cheer. "Any word on mum?"

His expression changed, smile drooping to a stern line. "Now is not the most appropriate time to talk about this. We'll speak about this later, tonight sometime, is that alright?"

I nodded in response and took a large gulp.

After Professor Longbottom had swiftly moved around me to tend to some of the more docile plants, I felt a finger lightly tapping on my shoulder. I swivelled on my feet to meet the culprit, which was none other than Scorpius.

It was true what they say about coincidence being an illusion.

His blonde hair looked neater and tamed today, a tuft of hair at the front slicked slightly to the side. He had a cleft in his chin, which I had not noticed earlier; it gave him a sweetness to his strong features.

"I probably should have realised that I'd be seeing you today as well, huh?" said Scorpius with a slight smile while pulling his dragon-hide gloves on, then following to pass me a pair. I took them graciously.

"What makes you think you can pair up with me then?" I questioned light heartedly.

Scorpius surveyed the room, to which I followed, and I saw that everyone had been partnered up already and waiting for instructions. He looked back at me and smirked.

"Does it look like I have a choice?" he said, and my cheeks turned crimson red.

"Looks like neither of us have a choice." We took our place next to one of the stations in the greenhouse with the Venomous Tentacula concealed by a white sheet. While we were given instructions, Scorpius had already started by taking the sheet off and seizing his wand from the back pocket of his trousers. I looked up at him, perplexed, a hand over his wand. "I know what I'm doing."

"Oh, I know," he replied, his smile contagious. "Just repaying the favour from yesterday."

The plant began spitting and hissing, a dollop of drool inching down its body, and we had to stand back to avoid the vines that were flailing powerfully. We stood there in silence to focus before I grasped my wand.

"Diffindo," I exclaimed.

This caused the plant to convulse as a bright, hot pink light flashed before us both, leaving two large vines chopped from the body and onto the table. Scorpius repeated this with the other vines. His spell was much more authoritative than mine. As was his voice.

"What are you doing after class then?" asked Scorpius, his eyes attentive on me while I buried my head down and squeezed slime from the thick leaves of the vine.

"I-." I paused for thought, trying not to become too distracted. "I don't know."

"Oh. That's alright."

"Why'd you ask?"

The slime was then decanted into a container by Scorpius.

"I just wanted to know if I'd see you around after dinner. I don't really have a clue what Gryffindor's do in their own time."

I stared at him, amused. "Nothing out of the ordinary of what Slytherins do." It was a statement, but there was a hint of inquiry and genuine perplexity in my voice.

"You haven't answered my question." Scorpius smiled cheekily.

"Do you really want me to answer now, when I've got a nasty plant to research?"

"I want nothing more than for you to answer."

"-And what if I don't?"

"Then I haven't done my job right."

"Are you saying that you, Scorpius Malfoy, are that desperate to see me again?"

"Can you please answer the question?" Scorpius proclaimed with a laugh, crunching the leaves into a paste.

"You answer mine first."

It did not even take him a split second to think about the answer.

"Yes."

I couldn't help but beam, and my hand moved over to hide my face. I hadn't expected that, but on the inside it make me slightly happy.

"Then, yes." I replied, not meeting his gaze nor his smug smile.

"Yes, what?" he asked with wit.

"Yes, you can see me after dinner."

As he moved his wand onto the table, the side of his hand brushed against my fingers. He decided to leave them there and I gazed up to meet him, but he quickly disconnected. It looked as if he was holding back a radiating grin, and my breathing became sharper.

I knew I had failed the moment I took my attention off the task. By then, we couldn't have dodged the incoming fireball that came our way; Scorpius tried to help by pulling me towards him, however it still scraped the side of his shoulder. His body trembled from the impact and he reluctantly let out an obscenity.

"First one of the lesson! Who bet ten minutes?" one of the students joked, which I believed to be one of the Weasley boys.

Another cried "Malfoy, you suck!"

Professor Longbottom raced over as Scorpius tried to swat the burning sensation from his skin with a newspaper. I senselessly stepped backwards while my father tended to his wound. He lifted Scorpius' robe and shirt sleeve up to see a deep, round gash the size of an egg, and I couldn't help but squirm.

"I-I-I'll take him to the hosp-pital w-wing," Professor Longbottom sputtered nervously. "Students, p-please pull the sheets over the Venomous Tentacula before you leave. You are di-dismissed."

Scorpius took one last look at me before being rushed off to Madam Boothby. His smile never faded, yet it was more gentle and subdued, and a little bit displeasured. I waved once, uncomfortably, before tending to my plant.

A/N: Wow, this took me a while to write! I completed it two days ago but I had to come back to tweek it, especially in regards to Neville. I found it really difficult to get his personality right, but I hope I did him justice! I kept a little bit of his nervousness and passion for herbology, but I think I had to make him sound more professional cause… well… he's a teacher now haha!

I hope you liked it anyway!


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